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Tale of Two Mice
Tale of Two Mice, re-released as A Tale of Two Mice, is a 1945 Looney Tunes short directed by Frank Tashlin. Plot Catstello is being chased by a cat rapidly at high speed around the house, yelling "Hey Babbit!" Catstello narrowly escapes into the mousehole, while the cat crashes into a wall. Babbit notices this and asks Catstello for the cheese, which he replied that he hasn't got any because he is scared of the cat. Babbit then chastises Catstello for his cowardice, but when this doesn't get into Catstello's head. Babbit continuously slaps him on the head. They attempt to steal cheese that is being guarded by a cat. Their schemes include past a sleeping cat, which doesn't go so well as Catstello runs off at first time, a small airplane and a rope and pull system. Finally, Catstello manages to escape the cat with a wedge of Swiss cheese, which unfortunately Babbit doesn't like. Fed-up with Babbit constantly ordering him around, repetitively slapping him as well as his ungratefulness for his efforts, Catstello continuously slaps him and force-feeds Catstello chunks of Swiss cheese. Catstello remarks "Ooohhh, I'm a baaaaaaad boy!" Availability * DVD - San Antonio (USA 1995 Turner print added as a bonus) * DVD - TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures (USA 1995 Turner print added as a bonus) Censorship * On the now-defunct WB channel, the sequence in which Babbit's states, "If this don't work, then I'll be a jack-ass," followed by Catstello in a crashed toy airplane yelling, "Jack-ass! A jack-ass!" and braying like a donkey was cut.The Censored Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide (T) ** Surprisingly, given that Cartoon Network and Boomerang edited Rebel Without Claws and I Was a Teenage Thumb to remove profanity ("damn" in the former cartoon short and "ass" in the latter), the two channels have aired this cartoon uncensored. Notes * This is the first cartoon where Babbit and Catstello are recast as mice instead of cats as in their debut cartoon "A Tale of Two Kitties" (1942), as well as as the protagonists rather than as antagonists to Tweety. They would later be recast as mice again in "The Mouse-Merized Cat" (1946) ** This is also the first cartoon where Catstello turns against Babbit in the end due to the former fed-up of the latter's constant abuse. This would happen again in The Mouse-Merized Cat. * Frank Tashlin, the director of this short, is not credited during the opening credits, this is due to him leaving before the cartoon was released into theaters. * When this short was re-released as a Blue Ribbon, it was retitled as A Tale of Two Mice. * The unnamed cat in this cartoon physically resembles Babbit from A Tale of Two Kitties. It is possible that director Frank Tashlin and the animators of this short designed the cat based on the said character. * This cartoon was re-released into the Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies program on January 10, 1953. Because the cartoon was re-released in the 1952-53 animation season, the Lydian "THE END" ending card is present in place of the original ending title card. ** Despite the re-release, the original opening and ending titles, as well as the title card and credits, are known to exist.Original titles Gallery IMG_2453.png|Original Titles IMG_2454.png|Original Titles 2 Two mice-1-.jpg IMG_2456.png|Original Credits References Category:1945 Category:Shorts Category:Babbit and Catstello Shorts Category:Looney Tunes Shorts Category:Blue Ribbon reissues Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Tedd Pierce Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer Category:Cartoons with layouts by Richard H. Thomas Category:Caricatures of real people Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist Category:Cartoons with uncredited directors